One of the underrated pleasures of children is the ability to go back and revisit the classics that we loved when we were children. In my case that included the trio of E.B. White children’s novels. White was a long time contributer to the New Yorker, but he is mainly known for 4 books: the trio of children’s novels and The Elements of Style (THE goto book for grammar and style). So what’s so special about the kid lit?

White’s first book of the trio is Stuart Little. Mr. and Mrs. Little’s second child was rather small and looked like a mouse, but everyone loved him (well not the cat Snowball, but that’s expected). The book follow along with Stuart as he goes on a series of adventures with his older brother and a bird named Margalo. The book is mainly a set of standalone stories until Margalo disappears. Then Stuart, who made friends with a dentist by racing his toy boat in a lake race, gets a small gas powered car (the tank can be filled up with five drops of gas) and goes on a journey to find her. Along the way, he finds a girl his size (and has a date), is a substitute teacher and continuing on his journey. There is no plot conclusion, it’s more like an enjoyable ride with an interesting mouse.

The second book is the much loved Charlotte’s Web. Wilbur is a spring pig and a runt at that. When Fern’s father goes to…dispose of Wilbur, Fern demands he stop and offers to raise him herself. Wilbur grows under Fern’s care, but soon is too big for the house and is sent to live at Fern’s Uncle’s farm down the road. Wilbur makes friends with Templeton the rat and a friendly spider named Charlotte. When it’s pointed out to Wilbur that he most likely will be Christmas dinner, Charlotte resolves to save Wilbur’s life. She uses her web and her intelligence to promote Wilbur by posting positive words about Wilbur on her blog web such as: “Some Pig”, “Terrific”, “Radiant” and “Humble”. When people from all over come to marvel over Wilbur, Charlotte races to complete her mission of saving Charlotte.

The last book (which was done a couple decades later than the other two) is Trumpet of the Swan. This is my personal favorite of the three. When Sam sees a trumpeter swan nest, he has no idea about how much his life will be intertwined with one of the cygnets, Louis. Louis is a mute trumpeter swan. After Louis is unable to attract the attention of a cute swan (Serena), his father resolves to give Louis a voice by stealing a trumpet from a music store for Louis to play. Louis not only learns to play the trumpet, but also learns to read/write with a blackboard hung around his neck (next to the trumpet). Louis gets a variety of jobs to pay back the music store for the trumpet. When Louis sees Serena again, he must not only attract her, but save her from a zoo.

White has the ability to anthropomorphize animals and have them interact with humans in an engaging manner. The animals are often put into silly situations, but White plays it straight, turning silly situations into sympathetic ones. The books are all exciting and adventurous and show a love for nature and looking out for one’s friends. Overall the books are classics for a reason and many generations have grown up loving them. Highly recommended.